Emmerson Fittipaldi is crowned Formula One World Champion driving the stunning, pioneering, John Player Special Lotus 72.
Henri Pescarolo and Co driver, former F1 champion Graham Hill, win the 24hrs of Le Mans driving a Matra MS670.
Arturo Merzario and Sandro Munari win the Targa Florio in a beautiful Ferrari 312/PB.
Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood wins the European Formula 2 Championship driving a Surtees Ford. Hailwood had previously won 9 Motor Cycle World Championships and 14 Isle of Man TT Races.
Bill McGovern wins the British Saloon Car Championship driving a Sunbeam Imp.
Jochen Mass wins the European Touring Car Championship driving a Ford Capri RS2600
The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers, the forebearer of the World Rally Championship, was won by Lancia with its Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF.
Triumph launches the Dolomite range of cars. The range topping 'Sprint' with its alloy wheels, vinyl roof and 16 valve engine was a truly desirable motor car.
Sales of the VW Beetle exceed those of the Model T Ford.
The Ford Cortina mkIII is the best selling car in the UK.
Ferrari launches the 365 GT4. A two door body, 2+2 seating, leather, air conditioning and a 4.4 litre V12 engine - wonderful!
Ok, it may be a facelift of the DBS, but Aston Martin's beautiful british bruiser with its 5.3 V8 engine had to be included! Still want that Ferrari?
Fiat launches a two seater, mid engined sports car called the X1/9
'Built to take on the best in Europe'
Ford launches its luxury, executive car, the Granada/Consul.
The launch of the iconic Renault 5.
One of the 1st super mini's it combined front wheel drive and a hatchback body. It became the best selling car in France.
Honda launched the popular Civic.
It immediately won Japans 'Car of the Year' competition.
Lancia launched its Beta which was praised for its performance, handling and roadholding. A stylish Italian car the Beta unfortunately had a reputation for rust and although Lancia later introduced a 6 year corrosion warranty (a 1st in the UK) its reputation was seriously damaged.
Fiat replaces the 500 with it's new baby, the 126
Mercedes-Benz Launches its flagship luxury model the W116 'Sonderklasse' better known as the 'S' class.
BMW launches its new executive car the E12 5 series.
Produced to take on the Dino 308 GT4 and Lamborghini Urraco, Maserati's new Merak had a 3.0 litre V6 engine and 2+2 seating.
Richard Nixon becomes the first American President to visit the Peoples Republic of China.
NASA launched the Pioneer 10 space probe on a mission to the outer planets. The probe was designed for a 21 month mission to fly past Jupiter but lasted more than 30 years sending its final signal to Earth in January 2003 from a distance of 7.6 billion miles.
The McDonnell Douglas F15 Eagle makes its 1st flight.
The fifth Moon landing mission began on the 16th April 1972 with the launch of Apollo 16. The giant Saturn V rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon.
